Greetings from Capetown

Greetings from Cape Town!
We arrived safely on Wednesday to Cape Town. No problems flying. Even arrived a little early. We had a minor crisis first thing in the morning when our assistant from the Center for Global Education, Evan, informed me that he didn't think he was going to be able to travel with us to Cape Town and assist us for the next week because he had an expired work visa that he thought would be renewed by the time we had to depart but the consulting firm he hired to handled it had somehow lost the approval of his renewal form! (At least it is not only Botswana that has difficulties with visas.) Why he didn't tell me this before we were just about to leave, which resulted in a crazed bus ride in which he attempted to dump the entire contents of his brain into mine while we drove to the airport, is beyond me. In addition to this, when he told me about the room assignments for the next week he had me rooming with the other faculty person (not really acceptable... at this point in my life, after traveling for 3 weeks already with 20 students...I need just a wee bit more personal space than that). When we actually arrived at the guest house I learned that there were only 5 communal bathrooms for the 22 of us...cranky would probably be the best word to describe me.

Fortunately, I sucked it up and in good African style...made a plan! Evan actually arrived later in the day on a later flight. Phew! I got switched into a single (a windowless single but a single none-the-less). And in terms of the shower...it ran pretty smoothly this morning so I just have to live with the dorm style living for the next week. I feel like the sorority mom in a big sorority house (plus the 4 male students... that many would probably sneak into a real sorority house anyway, right?)

We spent our first full day meeting some interesting people - first a white Afrikaner Christian who fought for liberation (made us all raise our hands identifying what faith we were...that was interesting!). Next a Muslim woman who showed us around the Bo-Kaap area which is the Muslim area of town (I actually went into my first mosque ever...had to take off my shoes and go upstairs to the area for women - you know how we have to avoid "distracting the men" -- don't get me started). In the afternoon, we went to a black township to visit a Christian organization supporting Lesbian, Gay, Bi-Sexual, Transexual persons. Quite the diverse day if I do say so myself.

Tomorrow depending on the weather we will either hike up Table Mountain or head out to Cape Point to see the penguins in the morning. In the afternoon we have tickets to Robben Island where Nelson Mandela was held in prison for 27 years.

Hoping all is well on your end as well. I'll write more when I can. Still having limited e-mail access.

Cheers,
Kristy